Black Theatre Black theatre has existed in the American conscience since the days of slavery, yet it is only recently within the last hundred years that there has been record of black theatre. In the earliest of records, slaves were forced to perform for white masters in order to entertain them on the voyage to America. Initial plays featuring black characters were initially derogatory and showed simple, uni-dimensional characters as they were perceived and written by white playwrights. In 1776 the play The Fall of British Tyranny was one of the first pieces to feature black characters that wasn’t riddled in stereotype. The African Grove Theatre was established in the early 20th century to encourage diverse storytelling, but was became a target for police as they frequently shut performances down. Black musicals began to thrive soon after, before minstrel shows took up steam, a type of performance steeped in stereotype, written by whites. The Harlem Renaissance became a major precedent for black theatre today, the most notable of writers being Langston Hughes. Theatre began to lull in the 30s and 40s, but rose again with the advent of the Federal Theatre, which ensured the employment of actors during the economic crisis. Today, black theatre is still underrated, for often black stories are left to the hands of white writers who assert their own opinions and perspectives onto their characters, often without consideration of the actual experiences of their muses.
Black theatre has existed in the American conscience since the days of slavery, yet it is only recently within the last hundred years that there has been record of black theatre. In the earliest of records, slaves were forced to perform for white masters in order to entertain them on the voyage to America. Initial plays featuring black characters were initially derogatory and showed simple, uni-dimensional characters as they were perceived and written by white playwrights. In 1776 the play The Fall of British Tyranny was one of the first pieces to feature black characters that wasn’t riddled in stereotype. The African Grove Theatre was established in the early 20th century to encourage diverse storytelling, but was became a target for police as they frequently shut performances down. Black musicals began to thrive soon after, before minstrel shows took up steam, a type of performance steeped in stereotype, written by whites. The Harlem Renaissance became a major precedent for black theatre today, the most notable of writers being Langston Hughes. Theatre began to lull in the 30s and 40s, but rose again with the advent of the Federal Theatre, which ensured the employment of actors during the economic crisis. Today, black theatre is still underrated, for often black stories are left to the hands of white writers who assert their own opinions and perspectives onto their characters, often without consideration of the actual experiences of their muses.